Ohio State Buckeyes Basketball Tickets

"The Best Damn Band in the Land" is the 225-member, all-brass Ohio State Marching Band that formed in 1879 as a military band. Also known as “The Pride of the Buckeyes,” the band perhaps is best known for the incomparable Script Ohio. Another band tradition of note is the “skull session,” a warmup concert/pep rally in St. John Arena, open to the public before every home football game.

Script Ohio Ohio State Buckeyes tickets The signature formation of the Ohio State Marching Band performed before, during halftime or after home football games.

Each time the formation drill is performed, a different fourth- or fifth-year sousaphone player has the privilege of standing as the dot in the “i” of “Ohio.”

At exactly 16 measures from the end of “Le Regiment,” the drum major struts out toward the top of the “i,” with a senior sousaphone player high-stepping a couple of paces behind. As the crowd’s cheering crescendos, the drum major stops and dramatically points to the spot, and the sousaphone player assumes the post of honor, doffs his or her hat and bows deeply to both sides of the stadium.

Woody Hayes and Bob Hope are among the select few non-band members who have had the honor of dotting the “i.”

School Songs

Ohio State proudly boasts an alma mater (Carmen Ohio), two fight songs (Across the Field and Buckeye Battle Cry) and a state rock song (Hang on Sloopy).

Buckeye Battle Cry
In old Ohio there’s a team
That’s known thru-out the land;
Eleven warriors, brave and bold,
Whose fame will ever stand.
And when the ball goes over,
Our cheers will reach the sky,
Ohio field will hear again
The Buckeye Battle Cry

Drive! Drive on down the field,
Men of the scarlet and gray;
Don’t let them thru that line,
We have to win this game today,
Come on, Ohio!
Smash through to victory.
We cheer you as you go:
Our honor defend
We will fight to the end for O-hi-o.

Across The Field

Fight the team across the field,
Show them Ohio’s here
Set the earth reverberating
with a mighty cheer
Rah! Rah! Rah!
Hit them hard and see how they fall;
Never let that team get the ball,
Hail! Hail! the gang’s all here,
So let’s win that
old conference now.